Yahoo's Jerry Yang: We're Done

Walt Mossberg just finished interviewing Yahoo (YHOO) CEO Jerry Yang and President Sue Decker (my real time notes are here, see Peter Kafka’s notes as well).

The two key topics of the interview were the failed Microsoft (MSFT) merger, and Yahoo’s core focus as a company. And while Yang never actually said the words quoted in the title above, his tone and body language screamed “We’re Done.” He was resigned. Beleaguered, even.

Yang dutifully recited PR-supplied sound bites. He said things like “We didn’t walk away from the Microsoft deal. They did.” At one point he said “I like Google” (GOOG) (he still doesn’t realize that they’re Yahoo’s enemy, not Microsoft). He talked about the future, sometimes stringing together four or five unrelated statements about their how they are coming together as a team and focusing on the future. He talked about how outside perception of Yahoo is very different from what’s actually going on internally (although the execs I’ve spoken with say the outside perception is pretty much right on the money).

Yang was not prepared for perhaps the one question that every CEO should be ready to answer at all times: “What is the business of Yahoo?” He was all over the place. He said their core focus included “home page, mail, search, and mobile.” He also said “We can’t be all things to all people. We have become much more focused,” before taking about other areas of focus at Yahoo, including advertising, social networking and their new open strategy.

Decker stepped in and tried to distill their core message, repeating “we focus on homepage, search, mail and mobile” but then went on to talk extensively about advertising, including a new display advertising product that the company will launch in Q3 this year.

From where I sit, I saw no core focus and no clear product or corporate strategy. Yahoo has no idea what they want to do or who’s going to do it. I saw no charisma, excitement or leadership at all (things I’ve seen regularly from Yang in the past). I saw, simply, failure.

“I will never be a CEO again,” Yang said near the end of the interview. Based on what he’s going through, I can understand how he feels.

Original post

Comments

[Roger Rainer:]

Yahoo - a great brand name being run by poor managers.
I will not hire Yang, Decker or most of the BOD. Yang may be done. Who cares. Yahoo may be done - that's a shame.

2008 May 29 01:04 AM

[metal27:]

Very insightful. I think you've confirmed what Adami on Fast Money said--the way to play the Yahoo/MSFT deal is to own Google.

2008 May 29 01:27 AM

[Josh Thompson:]

If i were a stakeholder in Yahoo, this article would be very disconcerting for me. When the www game changes again, can Google also change or is Google going to stay a one-hit-wonder?

2008 May 29 01:43 AM

[usbworks:]

It's always the same. The two bit analyst lackng any unique new information on the negotiations comments on the body language of the players as a way to hide his ignorance revealing all of his arrogance.

2008 May 29 04:25 AM

[Rob L:]

Yahoo can't even get their own PE right in Yahoo Finance

2008 May 29 08:14 AM

[usbworks:]

Michael Arrington wouldn't call this deal a dead turkey even if someone cooked it and stuffed it for dinner. He would try giving it mouth to mouth in the hopes that it would jump off the plate, flutter its plucked wings and flop away to mate in Redmond. Let's face it, if it looks like a dead deal, smells like a dead deal and tastes like a dead deal, it's a dead deal !

2008 May 29 05:06 PM

[TA:]

Anytime Yang bashing is on the table, I'm more than happy to jump in. Tech preferences aside, this fools ego needs a well deserved beating and a firing by a new board would be most entertaining.

2008 May 30 11:50 PM